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PHL 317K Introduction to Philosophy of the Arts Spring 2014

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PHL 317K Introduction to Philosophy of the Arts Spring 2014 1 PHL 317K Introduction to Philosophy of the Arts Spring 2014 Unique # 43270, 43275, 43280 TIME: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2:00-2:50 p.m. and a third hour LOCATION: WAG 302 (TTH 2:00 – 2:50 p.m.) (Check your schedule for third hour location) INSTRUCTOR: Prof. Kathleen Higgins OFFICE: WAG 203 (512) 471-5564 OFFICE HOURS: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10:45-11:45 a.m. E-MAIL: <[email protected]> COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course will consider some of the answers given in the Western philosophical tradition to questions about the nature of art and beauty, as well as offering a brief overview of some perspectives from Japan. Particular attention will be given to the distinction between art and reality, and to the nature of the aesthetic experience from the standpoint of both the artist and the observer. TEACHING ASSISTANT: TBA TEXTBOOK: Kathleen Marie Higgins, ed., Aesthetics in Perspective POLICIES: Late assignments will automatically receive ten fewer percentage points than they would otherwise have received. Late assignments will not be accepted more than one week after the date due. Late assignments will not be accepted after the last day of class. Makeup exams or extensions will be arranged only in situations of an emergency or serious illness. The instructor may ask for evidence. Students with disabilities may request appropriate academic accommodations from the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, Services for Students with Disabilities, 471-6259 2 GRADING AND IMPORTANT DATES: January 23 Short paper due 5% February 13 Exam I 15% March 6 Journal entries 1-6 due 10% March 20 Exam II 15% April 17 Exam III 15% April 29 Journal entries 7-12 due 10% May 1 Final written project due 20% Participation (includes attendance, in-class writing, in-class quizzes, etc.) 10% GRADING: Grades will be computed using the plus-minus system. The breakdown is as follows: A 92-100 A- 90-91 B+ 87-89 B 82-86 B- 80-81 C+ 77-79 C 72-76 C- 70-71 D+ 67-69 D 62-66 D- 60-61 F 0-59 THIS COURSE WILL NOT HAVE A FINAL EXAM. SECTIONS: Unique #43270 Friday, CLA 0.118 12:00 noon-1:00 p.m. Unique #43275 Friday, 1:00-2:00 p.m. CLA 0.120 Unique # 43380 Friday, 2:00-3:00 MEZ 2.122 3 SYLLABUS January 14 Introduction: What Is Art For? TRADITIONAL QUESTIONS ABOUT BEAUTY AND ART January 16 What Is Beauty and Why Do We Care about It? (Plato’s Account) Readings: Plato, “The Form of Beauty” and “Beauty’s Influence” (p. 11-23) To think about for class: Poet John Keats wrote “Beauty is truth/Truth beauty”? What do you think this means? January 21 Where Does (Good) Art Come From? Readings: Plato, “Inspiration as Magnetism” (pp. 278-281) To think about for class: Why do we value artistic originality (if we do)? January 23 How Does Art Relate to Reality? - J1 Readings: Plato, “Art and Appearance” (pp. 114-121) SHORT PAPER DUE January 28 Tragedy in Art: What Do We Like about It? – J2 Reading: Aristotle, “The Form of a Tragedy” (pp. 24-30) and Aristotle, “Constructing a Tragedy” (pp. 282-283) To think about for class: Why do we like to see tragic movies? 4 January 30 On What Grounds Should We Criticize Art? – Contemporary Uses of Ancient Theories Reading: Mark Crispin Miller, “Advertising – End of Story” (pp. 350-358); Alexander Nehamas, “Plato and the Mass Media” (pp. 184-189) February 4 Is Beauty in the Eye of the Beholder? – J3 Reading: David Hume, “Of the Standard of Taste” (pp. 31- 43) To think about for class: Is War and Peace necessarily better than Harry Potter (any volume)? Why or why not? February 6 Is Beauty the Ultimate Aim of Art? (The Sublime and Another Take on Tragedy) Reading: Friedrich Nietzsche, “On Beauty and Ugliness” and “Apollo and Dionysus” (pp. 54-62) February 11 Review February 13 Exam I February 18 Can Anything at All Be Beautiful? (Kant’s Analysis of Aesthetic Experience) – J4, J5 Reading: Immanuel Kant, “The Four Moments” (pp. 44-48); Edward Bullough, “Psychical Distance” (pp. 164-167) To think about for class: Can you be wrong when you think something is beautiful? Can graffiti be beautiful? Why or why not? 5 February 20 Is Appreciating Beauty a Common Human “Sense”? ⎯ The Issue of Universality Reading: Immanuel Kant, “The Four Moments” (pp. 48-53) February 25 How Does Kant’s Model Apply to Art? Where Do Artists’ Intentions Fit In? How Relative Is Human Beauty? Reading: Immanuel Kant, “The Nature of Genius” (pp. 284- 286) To think about for class: How much do Barbie dolls and touched-up images dictate our standard of beauty? February 27 What Does Art Reveal about the Temper of the Times? – J6 Reading: G. W. F. Hegel, “The Ages of Art (pp. 446-450) CONTEMPORARY ART March 4 Why Has Art Changed Over Time? Reading: John Berger, “Oil Painting” (pp. 464-466) March 6 Have We Reached the End of Art? Arthur Danto, “Approaching the End of Art” (pp. 454-460) JOURNAL ENTRIES 1-6 DUE SPRING BREAK March 18 Review March 20 Exam II 6 March 25 What Makes It Art? - J7 Reading: Arthur Danto, “The Artworld” (pp. 68-74) To think about for class: Why do we (or at least most of us) care whether an artwork is a forgery? March 27 Does Anything Go? Reading: Timothy Binkley, “Piece – Contra Aesthetics” (pp. 88-97); Leo Tolstoy, “What Is Art?” (pp. 362-364) To think about for class: Does someone’s saying that something is art make it art? Does it matter whether the person is an artist? ART, ETHICS, AND POLITICS April 1 Are We Being Taken In? (Modern Art, Public Art, and Art’s Social Function) – J8 Readings: Tom Wolfe, “The Worship of Art: Notes on the New God” (pp. 246-250); Karsten Harries, “The Ethical Significance of Modern Art” (pp. 195-204) April 3 What Is Kitsch and What Kind of Bad Art Is It? – J9 Readings: Milan Kundera, “The Nature of Kitsch” (pp. 397- 398); Matei Calinescu, “Kitsch and Hedonism” (pp. 299- 403) April 8 Does Art Challenge or Reinforce Stereotypes? Or Both? – J10 Readings: Robert Gooding-Williams, “Look, A Negro!” (pp. 530-538) and Noël Carroll, “The Image of Women in Film” (pp. 567-574) 7 To think about for class: What is an example of a film that reinforces stereotypes? Can you think of an example of a film that challenges stereotypes? AESTHETICS IN EVERYDAY LIFE April 10 How Does Aesthetics Figure in Everyday Life? Readings: John Dewey, “Aesthetic Qualities” (pp. 611-616) To think about for class: When have you had an experience that was really “an experience” in Dewey’s sense? April 15 Review April 17 Exam III April 22 Magic Moments – How Do They Happen? (Japanese Aesthetics) – J11 Readings: Sei Shonagon, “The Pillow Book” (pp. 617-619) and Garret Sokoloff, “By Pausing before a Kicho” (pp. 620- 627) April 24 Does Cultural Difference Prove that It’s All Relative? (Japanese Aesthetics, continued) – J12 Readings: Donald Keene, “Japanese Aesthetics” (pp. 678- 687) and Yuriko Saito, “The Japanese Appreciation of Nature” (pp. 140-147) April 29 Does Art Make Us Better People? Can It Make Us Worse? Reading: Anna Deveare Smith, “Introduction to Fires in the Mirror” (pp. 639-646) JOURNAL ENTRIES 7-12 DUE 8 To think about for class: Do you think a bad moral outlook necessarily makes for bad art? May 1 Where Does Art Fit in Our Lives? Reading: Walter Pater, “A Quickened Sense of Life” (pp. 169-163) FINAL WRITTEN PROJECT DUE NO FINAL EXAM 9 PHL 317K Introduction to Philosophy of the Arts Higgins Spring 2014 Short Writing Assignment: A Beautiful Artwork Due in Class, Thursday, January 23, 2014 For this assignment, you must go to the Blanton Museum of Art (use your UT ID cards to get free admission) and find an artwork that you consider beautiful. Then write one to two pages explaining what features of the work (or your experience of the work) justify your claim that this work is beautiful. Include a brief description of the artwork that is clear and complete enough that the rest of your comments make sense Consider the role that each of the following may play. Discuss only those points that are relevant to the work that you are considering. 1. Medium and making—What materials did the artist use in making this work of art? What specific techniques did the artist employ here? How was this artwork made? Was this medium or process of making new to the time period or to this artist, or was it a more traditional technique? Do you think that the medium and process of a making of a work can influence whether or not it is beautiful? 2. Artist—What facts about the artist are important for us to know in order to better understand this artwork? How old was the artist at the time of making this work? Is any knowledge about the artist important for determining how beautiful the work is? 3. Context—What events occurred in the world and/or the life of the artist when this work was made? Do any historical events that you know about have a bearing on the artwork? Think about the context surrounding the artist and the work in terms of historical events, technological developments, religious beliefs, scientific explorations, the work of other artists, etc. Are these considerations relevant to a work’s beauty? 4. Content—Does the artwork have a clear narrative (i.e.
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